SW015 EFA, A Seminole Dog's Life During Wartime

 

The little children’s book with a big heart is called Efa: A Seminole Dog. Jerry C. Morris wrote it and the Seminole Wars Foundation published it in 2015 to give young people an image for what life was like during wartime in Tampa in 1838. Told from the view of a dog, the story recalls a period of Florida history we call the Second Seminole War.

As we have discussed previously on this podcast, from 1835-1842, the United States government attempted to forcibly remove the Seminole people from their Florida homes to reservations in what is now Oklahoma. One of the saddest things in this very sad tale was that the Army would not permit the departing Seminoles to take their dogs with them. As the ships departed, many dogs were left sitting on the shore, watching their masters on ship decks pass out of sight, never to return.

One of those Indians was a Black Seminole who went by the name of John Horse, or Gopher John. After a prolonged and valiant struggle, John Horse surrendered to the Army in April 1838. In this book, Jerry Morris imagines that Efa belonged to John Horse and pines each day for his return. 

Author Jerry Morris is a long-time living historian of the Second Seminole War, who dressed as a soldier of that era, actually hiked the March of Major Dade’s ill-fated column from Tampa to present-day Bushnell. He joins us to discuss everything about Efa. Throughout this podcast, Efa will rejoin us to present his insights on his life as he yearns for John Horse to come back for him. Will he? Spoiler Alert: This IS a children’s book. No one goes away unhappy. [Art by Tyler Thompson. Photo by Angela Rogers. Canine voice characterization by Patrick Swan]

Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. He is a combat veteran and of the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo, and at the Pentagon after 9/11. A military historian, he holds masters degrees in Public History, Communication, and Homeland Security, and is a graduate of the US Army War College with an advanced degree in strategic studies. This podcast is recorded at the homestead of the Seminole Wars Foundation in Bushnell, Florida. 

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